Hold the powder
by UnluckyAmulet
Summary: -SasuSaku- Sasuke didn't like to admit it. But Sakura was cute when she was cold. Extra chapter added!
1. Snow

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and stuff.

Enjoy!

* * *

Just because snow was a silent thing, it didn't mean it could make _people_ be silent. 

"I'm so COLD!" Naruto moaned righting himself as he unwittingly stood on another frozen puddle, cracking it but managing to slip on it at once. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Stop whining." Sasuke muttered irritably.  
Team 7 had just come back from a day of training, and it was a surprise for the genins when they saw it was snowing. Kakashi looked up, as if he had only just noticed the flaky powder that was falling from though sky, though of course being a jounin he had much better observational skills then his young charges, and he had commented on the temperature and hue of the sky a couple of time.  
"How can YOU be cold, N-Naruto?" Sakura demanded her teeth chattering. "At l-least you're wearing a j-jacket!"

"You can borrow my jacket, Sakura-Chan." Naruto offered, but cold or not, Sakura wrinkled her nose,  
"It stinks." she stated flatly. Usually, Sakura would have been a little more tactful then this, but she was tired, cold, and she had a valid point.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. Despite the cold weather, the jacket did indeed reek not only of the general un-washed clothes smell, but also of body odour, Raman, week-old milk, mud, damp, and a few other things, each with it's own unpleasant musk.

"Naruto, how long has it been since you washed that thing?" Kakashi inquired, tilting his head to one side in both amusement and slight exasperation.  
"Um..."  
Naruto wrinkled his forehead, sucking in his bottom lip in a comical way so it looks like his mouth is twisted to one side. Kakashi sighed.  
"You can't remember, can you?"  
"I can remember!" Naruto shouted indignantly, "I just forgot!"

Sakura sighed as Kakashi simply shook his head and ruffled the top of Naruto's head in an affectionate manner.  
"Idiot." Sasuke muttered under his breath. His dark eyes flicked to the shivering female a little longer then necessary as Sakura rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to keep herself from freezing.  
"Alright, everyone, go on ahead home." the jounin instructed, casting a weary eye over his three shivering pupils. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, probably off to his own apartment or to report to the Hokage. Sasuke made a 'humph' in the back of his throat and began to walk off, Sakura padding slowly behind him. Naruto was standing there, an impish grin on his face.

"Hey, Sasuke, Sakura-Chan!"  
"What, Naruto?" the girl asked impatiently, swinging around just in time to see a snowball go whizzing past her head, hitting Sasuke squarely in the back. The Uchiha turned and glared at Naruto, who was aiming another snowball.  
"Don't you even-" Sasuke started to say, but Naruto was too giddy to listen, and sent another snowball flying toward him. Sakura gasped and dodged swiftly, Sasuke simply moved his head. His eyes flashed before he stooped.  
"Hey, what are you doing?" Naruto asked nervously, before several large snowballs thudded him squarely in the face, chest and legs. With a satisfied smirk, Sasuke turned and continued on his way, with Naruto spluttering with indignation and desperately trying to wipe the rapidly melting snow from his orange jump suit. Sakura carried on walking as well, wanting nothing more then a warm bath and possibly a mug of hot chocolate. But then suddenly, she heard a crunching noise and saw Naruto dashing toward Sasuke, holding a massive wad of snow, his arm right back, aiming.  
"No, stop, Naruto!" Sakura shrieked, but it was too late.  
This time, it was Sasuke who turned to see both Naruto and Sakura sprawled out on the floor; both covered from head to toe in the stuff.

"Ah...Sakura-Chan." Naruto stammered, as Sakura pushed herself up, shaking snow from her hair and face. She slowly stood up, her face partially hidden by her bangs. There was a rip in the front of her dress, and Sasuke saw a cut where her pale skin was exposed.  
"Sakura-Chan, I didn't mean to..." Naruto mumbled, aghast. He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder. "I wasn't aiming for-"

"You...IDIOT!"

He should have seen it coming, really, thought Sasuke. Sakura had whipped around, her eyes blazing with anger, and her hand had reached out and slapped Naruto right across the face. Naruto staggered back, rubbing his cheek with astonishment. Sakura turned away from him and ran, brushing past Sasuke; her bare arm briefly touching is before she flashed past. Sasuke's arm tingled where her freezing skin had brushed him. He shot one last glare at the blonde before trudging away.

* * *

Later that evening, the wind picked up. What had been a gentle fall of snow before had now become huge clumps of the stuff, the size of lanterns falling. People had quickly retreated into their houses, staring with awe at the thick white blanket that seemed to be covering Konoha.  
Well...almost everyone.  
Sasuke was trudging back to his mansion, holding a bag of food in one arm. He had discovered upon returning to his house after Naruto's idiotic 'snowball fight' to find that he had cleared out almost all of the food in the pantry, and had set out to restock. He was just about to turn right when he suddenly looked up to see something padding up the path toward him.  
Actually, it was _someone._

Sakura was looking a little more suitably dressed now, wearing blue skin-tight trousers instead of her custom shorts, a thick coat over her dress (red, of course) a blue scarf and some mitten gloves, in mint green. Her ninja shoes were simply replaced with boots. She did not, however, look much more cheerful from when Naruto had accidentally tackled her into the snowdrift.  
In fact, she looked downright forlorn.

Which is why, maybe, Sasuke felt...strangely _sorry_ for her. After all, Naruto had unwittingly pinned her down on the freezing ground. He was sure he wouldn't be particularly likely to forget that. In fact, he'd be livid.  
"Sakura."  
She looked up; looking a little surprised to see him. She blushed.  
"Hello, Sasuke-kun." she mumbled. Her bangs flopped as she bowed her head slightly, framing her heart-shaped face. For a moment, she looked incredibly vulnerable. A second odd emotion rose up in Sasuke. Now he felt like he should be... protecting her?

"What are you doing outside?" he asked instead, careful to keep his voice blank. "It's getting dark. You should go home."

"I-" started the kunoichi. But at that moment, the frigid winter wind blew hard, making Sakura's scarf flail wildly and the paper bag Sasuke held rustle loudly. Sighing, the Uchiha reached forward and grabbed Sakura's wrist. She uttered a sound of surprise before Sasuke pulled her toward the direction of his house, pushing open the door and heading inside, tugging the bewildered girl behind him.

As the door slammed shut, Sakura shook her head, snow falling onto the dusty floorboards before melting into tiny droplets.  
"This way." Sasuke muttered gruffly, jerking his head to indicate she should follow him. Sakura hastily slipped off her boots before trotting after him, looking with interest at the inside of the house before she came into the living room. Sasuke gestured stiffly for her to sit down before disappearing into the kitchen. Sakura perched awkwardly on the edge of a small sofa, unsure of how she managed to find herself in this situation. She unzipped her coat- it was fairly warm inside- and hung it up on a small hook that was on the door.  
Then she waited; picking nervously at a strand of thread that was coming loose from her pants.

"Here."

She jumped at the voice, and turned to see Sasuke holding out a mug toward her. She accepted, managing a small smile before taking a sip.  
A delicious chocolate flavour danced on her tongue, and she licked her lips, smiling properly this time.  
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." she said, sighing happily, "I didn't know you can make hot-chocolate!"

"Hm." responded the Uchiha, but a small smile flickered at the corners of his mouth. He glanced over while Sakura sipped, and noticed that her nose had turned pink. She caught him looking at rubbed at it self-consciously, the pink on her cheeks deepening to a red. Sasuke quickly flicked his eyes away from her face and struggling to stay indifferent, though his cheeks were getting a little pink too. Must be the heat- No. Fire. Yes. Must be the fire.

A rattling noise interrupted the awkward silence. They both directed their gazes toward the window, and saw to their surprise that the sky was now black, though they could dimly make out white shapes still falling behind the dusty glass.  
Sasuke suddenly realised how late it was. And the snow was still heavy outside. He couldn't possibly send Sakura out now- Blundering through dark, cold streets at night weren't a wise idea, particularly if you happened to be a girl.

That meant...she had to stay _here_.

"Um, Sasuke-kun?"  
He jumped at that, turning to see Sakura looking at him with concern.  
"Are you...-"

"It's late." Sasuke managed, his voice sounding a little bit strained. "You'll have to stay here."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible. Sasuke rose from his sitting position and sloped out of the room. Sakura resisted her sudden urge to see where he was going, and instead decided to put out the fire.

When Sasuke returned, carrying a pillow and a spare blanket, Sakura was beginning to wish she hadn't bothered- it was winter, after all, and just because it was a big house didn't mean it couldn't get cold.

Sakura watched as Sasuke set up a makeshift bed. She would have helped, but when she had gone to lift up the blanket, Sasuke had shaken his head at her and she desisted.

Now she was lying on a mat, snuggling as best she could under the thin, moth-eaten blanket. She knew that Sasuke didn't have to do any of this, and it made her feel comforted, somehow, that he'd bothered.  
All the same, it was still cold.  
And quiet...

And... A little bit lonely.

Sakura turned over, trying to make herself more comfortable, but it was useless. The blanket, while old, was too big, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't find a way to bundle herself up without suddenly moving to find a freezing cold patch of blanket.

She was so busy thinking about how to stay warm, that she didn't hear the soft, slow, creaking of footsteps. She didn't notice the door slowly slide open before closing again.  
What she did notice, however, was that as she rolled to the side once again, she felt something warm beside her.

"Sasuke-kun?" she whispered, a shiver of excitement running up her body.  
"Shh."

Sasuke's blunt reply didn't surprise her.  
What _did_ surprise her was when she felt two arms wrap around her and pull her close. Sakura slipped her own hands down and close them around Sasuke's. He made a soft, 'Hm' and she felt his warm breath on her neck. She closed her eyes and smiled.  
Sasuke smiled too in the darkness as Sakura fell asleep in his arms.  
As much as he hated to admit it...

Sakura was cute when she was cold.

* * *

Fin. 


	2. Flakes

Hi there, readers! 

I know that Hold the Powder was meant to be a oneshot, but I couldn't resist adding this extra chapter to it. (Even if it is on Valentine's day, which I generally find to be cliche'd crap. And I was really surprised by the amount of people who put it on their favourites list!) So I thought I'd add this one, since I didn't want to leave any loose ends. I'd also like to say thanks to all the reviews I got for this!

Enjoy!

* * *

Sakura watched the steady fall of the snow, occasionally tracing the swirl patterns a flake would create with her index finger until it fell and disappeared. Occasionally, she tried to guess in which direction the flake will go and where it will land. It's not a very effective method of entertainment, but it's quiet and peaceful. But slowly, Sakura's thoughts drifted back to when she woke up...

Was she really sleeping in Sasuke-kun's house? Sakura couldn't for the life of her remember. She woke up in her own bed, after all.

_Unless Sasuke-kun took me home so Ino-pig and the others wouldn't see me leave the house and make stupid assumptions._  
Sakura suddenly thought, surprising herself. The shinobi grimaced to herself just thinking about what Ino's reaction might be if she spotted Sakura leaving the Uchiha manor. More thoughts, prompting more suggestions buzzed through her head. Sakura shook her head, catching sight of herself in the mirror. She looked decent enough, considering the puzzling morning. Sakura sighed to herself.

"I should go for a walk." decided Sakura to herself, picking up a small brush on her mirror ledge and running it through her tangled pale hair. When she was done, she dropped the brush, gave her reflection a once over and left her room, trying not to be too noisy on the stairs so as not to wake up anybody.

Outside, it looked like the entire village of Konoha had been covered in a thick cold blanket. Every surface was coated in the stuff, and there was still more falling. The snow made everything look so picturesque  
Sakura smiled in spite of her sleepy, perplexed morning. It was beautiful outside. She spun around in a circle; her gloved hands spread wide, small flecks of snow landing on her palms and quickly melted. Sakura stuck out her tongue, eyes closed blissfully. A small flake landed on the tip of her tongue, and she withdrew it with a small laugh.

* * *

"Hey, forehead-girl!"

Sakura turned, surprised, to see Ino running up to her, waving, looking very bright in comparison with the soft, white background.  
"Hi, Ino-pig!" managed Sakura, slowly, as she took in her friends exuberant outfit.

Ino herself was looking very winter chic in a fluffy, form-fitting purple dress, complete with matching indigo gloves, hat and scarf. On her legs were opaque black tights and dark green boots. On her waist was a thick black belt.

"What are you staring at, Sakura?" Ino laughed, putting her hands on her hips. (Which seemed to be very pronounced in her dress.)

"You look like a blackberry with a wig on, Ino!" giggled Sakura, saying the first image that came to mind.

"S-shut up!" Ino answered a pink flush on her face. "Anyway, you're one to talk! You look like a strawberry that got gum stuck on it!"

Sakura nudged Ino in the ribs, and the two friends/rivals laughed good-naturedly together. They headed down the street, chatting, Ino telling Sakura all about her latest mission with Chouji, Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei. Apparently, it had been even colder where they had gone then it was in the Fire Country.  
"And I had to keep caking on my face powder, you know, because my cheeks and nose go all pink in the cold." Ino was saying loudly, missing Sakura rolling her eyes, "But then Chouji barged into me and I dropped it all in the snow! And it's so white; I couldn't even see it after a couple of seconds! It was so funny after I stopped yelling at him for being a clumsy idiot."

Sakura threw back her head and laughed. Then suddenly an odd noise interrupted the two girls. Sakura looked at Ino, confused. When Ino blushed again, Sakura realised where the sound had come from. Ino's stomach, to be precise.

"I guess I skipped breakfast today!" Shrugged Ino, not sounding at all regretful about it.

"Let's stop and eat." suggested Sakura, pointing to the nearby Ichiraku stall, where the scent of Raman drifted tantalisingly toward them. Ino's pert little nose wrinkled slightly, but she agreed. The snow had stopped falling now.

"Ah, Welcome, welcome!" cried the old man who ran the Ichiraku Stall, recognising the two. Ino smiled flirtatiously at the greeting and quickly engaged him in conversation. Sakura, however, noticed a familiar form sitting at the end of the stall.  
"Good morning, Naruto." Sakura grinned at her friend, who had a worryingly large bowl of pork Raman in front of him.  
"MMhh! MMmuu-mmff!"  
"Sorry?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to one side as she watched Naruto struggle with his large mouthful of food, his cheeks largely resembling that of a hamster. Eventually, Naruto managed to swallow his mouthful and said,  
"Hey, Sakura-chan!"  
"That's what I thought you said." Sakura sighed, shaking her head at the boy's antics. "Listen, Naruto, I want to apologise."  
"Huh? What for?" Naruto said, about to take another large mouthful of his beloved Raman.  
"Well, you know. For slapping you yesterday. I overreacted." elaborated Sakura, sounding embarrassed. Ino, thankfully, wasn't paying attention to the conversation that was going on. Naruto grinned at Sakura and shook his head, saying cheerfully,  
"Nah, you don't need to be sorry, Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei said I was getting too excited."  
Sakura nodded in relief, and then she suddenly spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She could see a familiar black-haired boy trudging past the Ichiraku stall, looking lost in thought about something.

_Oh, that's right!_ Sakura thought suddenly, ignoring the loud conversation Naruto was having with the old man and Ino, _I need to thank Sasuke-kun for yesterday...though he'll probably be embarrassed... _

"O-oh!" 

Turning, the green-eyed girl suddenly found herself face-to-face with Hyuuga Hinata, who was standing just in front of the stall.

"Oh, Hinata!" Sakura greeted, smiling. "Good morning! Well, afternoon, now."  
"A-afternoon, Sakura-san." greeted the Hyuuga, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, looking embarrassed. Sakura wondered if she had spotted Naruto sitting just behind her yet.  
"Sakura, our food's here!" Ino called to her friend, "I ordered for you, so- Oh, hey, Hinata!"  
"H-hello, Ino-san." Hinata nodded, a smile creeping onto her pale face. Sakura and Ino exchanged looks as Naruto suddenly realised that another person had arrived and turned around.  
"'Ey, 'Inata-chan!" Naruto waved, a large smile on his face, his cheeks bulging again. Hinata squeaked a 'hello' back, going a steady shade of deep pink. Sakura, who had been absent-mindedly staring at the spot where Sasuke had been suddenly had a flash of inspiration.  
"Listen, Ino, I left my money at home!" Sakura said to her friend, who looked confused. "I'll-uh- have to go home and get it! You can have my bowl if you like, Hinata!"

And before Ino could protest, Naruto could swallow his food or Hinata could speak, Sakura turned and dashed out of the stall, her eyes spotting the trail of footprints that Sasuke had left behind. Skidding around a corner, she followed it up a flight of stone steps.

* * *

_I'm glad I thought of doing that! _Sakura thought to herself, as she ascended the steps, _I wasn't hungry anyway, and maybe Hinata could stay and eat with Naruto! I'm sure Ino could help get her to- _

Then, Sakura suddenly skidded to a halt, her eyes fixed in front of her. 

Sasuke was sitting on a wooden bench, staring silently out at the rest of Konoha, as the place he was sitting happened to be an excellent view of Hokage Mountain. Sakura stood there silently for a few moments, her heart thumping loudly against her chest. For some reason, she was suddenly feeling shy- like she had barged in on something private. One foot with lifted in the air still, as though somebody had just frozen her, mid-step. Her mouth felt awfully dry all of a sudden. But her leg was beginning to twinge with pain, and she put it back down with a soft 'thud'.  
Sasuke immediately turned around, looking slightly surprised to see Sakura standing there. They looked at each other for a couple of seconds, neither of them speaking.

"Can I...sit down?" Sakura suddenly found herself saying, as though somebody else had temporarily taken control of her mouth. Sasuke blinked, then nodded once.

Making her way around the bench, Sakura swept the layer of snow off the other side of the bench before sitting down, trying to ignore the sudden coldness on her legs. Silence fell again, though it was considerably less uncomfortable then before. Sakura chewed on her bottom lip, trying to look at Sasuke without turning her head. His face was quite blank. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. The snow had started again, but this time the fall of it was very slow, with soft, wispy flakes falling down from the grey sky above.

"Um...Sasuke-kun...about yesterday," Sakura managed to say, hesitantly, after what seemed like a long time. "I just wanted to...to say thank you. For the hot chocolate, and letting me stay over and everything."  
"Yeah..." was all Sasuke said.  
Sakura blinked. That wasn't the response she had been expecting. At all. Swallowing, Sakura tried again,  
"I-"  
"Ssh."  
He was looking at her now, his gaze unexpected and almost...intense. Sakura was now feeling oddly nervous. It almost seemed like he was annoyed with her.  
"But-"  
And then something else she hadn't expected happened.  
He leant forward and kissed her on the mouth. It happened so suddenly, and so fast, that she barely had time to register what was going on until he drew back, frowning slightly.  
"You talk too much." he told her. Sakura blushed. Then Sasuke leant forward again, saying in a low voice,  
"This is how you can say thanks..."  
Sakura felt his mouth on hers again, and closed her eyes, allowing herself to melt into the clear, white background of the snow.

Sakura had made one conclusion.

Snow was beautiful.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this extra chapter. As always, reviews would be awesome! 


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